Negative Pickup
In a typical negative pickup deal, the independent producer enters into an agreement with a studio to distribute the movie when the producer completes it. Upon delivery of the completed picture to the distributor, the distributor agrees to advance to the producer an agreed-upon amount against the producer?s share of the revenues generated by distribution of the picture.

A producer needs a strong track record of finishing profitable films in order to get a deal like this.

Distribution Rights.
In a typical distribution deal a distributor will buy the rights to show the movie in specific territories.

Presales
In a typical persale deal a sales agent will get money from specific distributors before the film is made. Essentially, the distribution rights are sold before the movie is in production. Once again, a producer needs a strong track record of finishing profitable films in order to get a deal like this.

Tax Credits
Many countries and States will offer a producer an incentive for a producer to shoot there. This includes various waivers on some taxes. It can also include a tax break for investors.

Co-Productions
In a typical co-production two or more established producers, production companies or distributors will join together to share the costs.

International Financing
In a typical international financing deal, companies, producers and distributors from several different countries will join together to share the costs.

The Point System
This is the percentage of the return that is divided among the participants. 100 percent equals 100 points. there are hundreds of different ways to distribut these points.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Certified,

Thank you for responding. I knew most of which you wrote, however was looking for more in depth information as it pertains to my situation.

I know there are books written by Mark Litwak, John W. Cones and others - but I was curious if anyone has read one of them and highly recommends it.

Maybe I should just ask you.

Thanks again.

It's very time consuming to answer seven questions in depth on a messageboard so I gave the quick, general answer. I'd be glad to answer in more depth to a specific question.

As far as the books go, it can't hurt you to buy and read each one of them.

Hi

I recomend reading "how to fund your film" by Adam Davies and Nic Wistreich, it provided us with the knowledge where to secure funds from. The book is UK based but does have some info about international funding - it explains all the jargon and even gives you guidelines on how produce films on a very cheap budget.

I bought mine from www.ukfilmfinance.com

Hope this helps

For a great overview of film financing and distribution, I?d pick up a copy of ?Shooting to Kill? by Christine Vachon and David Edelstein. Christine Vachon is a producer that did the indy movies Kids, Safe, Go Fish, I Shot Andy Warhol, and Velvet Goldmine.

I think this book does a great job of giving you a bird?s eye view of the topic and then there are dozens of textbook-style books that can give you the reference info. ?Shooting to Kill? even provides budget breakdowns and real-world information I haven?t seen anywhere else. Highly recommended.

Hope this helps.

Dan Rahmel
Author: "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"
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